While the country is on lock down a big emphasis has been put on keeping yourself fit and active. We all need to ensure that we keep to our usual routines as much as possible, not only for our physical health but mental health too.
But if you have let your fitness slide over the last few years this can be a perfect time to make a change as well, and make a positive out of this strange time.
If you are a smoker this is even more important, as smoking not only effects your health in general but actually makes it harder to get fit in general.
It may seem daunting to make such huge changes at the same time, but E-cigarettes can make the transition from cigarettes easier, and without the cigarettes you can achieve your fitness goals quicker!
Why is exercise important?
We are always told that exercise is good for our health and that we should do it regularly, but apart from being able to get up the stairs without wheezing what is the point?
Getting fit doesn’t just mean being able to run 5 kilometers, it helps get your whole body back to where it is meant to be, and get everything working properly. By getting fitter you can help your body in a few ways:
- Increases the efficiency of respiration
- Helps decrease the risk of developing coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes
- Improves blood volume, distribution and delivery to the muscles
- Lowers anxiety and stress
- Helps you feel better overall
Just by exercising a bit everyday you can do a huge amount of good for your body and your mind.
Current health guidelines
Currently the NHS suggests doing 150 minutes of moderate activity a week (this works out to be just over 21 mins every day) or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity a week (which equals to near 11 minutes per day).
Training 7 days a week though can be difficult to do, and will take its toll on our bodies (especially for those of us who haven’t exercised for years). A good compromise is to try and train every other day, and just up the minutes. This way you are giving your body time to repair itself in-between sessions and don’t burn out on the idea of exercise.
Rest days are just as important as the days that we are doing exercise, so the body can replenish itself with goodness and repair itself. This is why eating as healthy as possible comes hand in hand with training as bodies need to be fed with the proper fuel to fix and improve itself.
Of course smokers will be at a disadvantage with this as smoker’s body is constantly being attacked and destroyed by the 4000+ chemicals in cigarettes. Try to add repairing and improving your body from exercise and you will see a much smaller improvement than a non-smoker.
It doesn’t help as well that a smoker’s fitness is on average lower than a non-smoker’s. Lung capacity, heart health and muscle strength are all effected by smoking and so lower a smoker’s resting fitness level.
So now we know why we should get moving and how long for, what is the best way to do so?
Moderate exercise for you to try
Moderate exercise is classed as moving at a pace where you are able to still speak while doing so. It’s recommended for those who are maybe just starting to get back into exercise or have a health issue where too much pressure will hurt it.
But even with moderate exercise you can burn energy at a rate 3-6 times faster compared to just sitting down.
Below are some popular forms of moderate activity.
- Brisk Walking
- Pushing the lawn mower
- Rollerblading
- Dancing
- Riding a bike
As you can see there is nothing here that is going to break any one of us, but if we make sure that we do it for 150 minutes a week we can still get all the benefits from exercise.
Vigorous activity to try
Vigorous exercise is classed as an activity done with maximum effort, causing rapid breathing and a substantial increase in your heart rate.
Below are some popular forms of vigorous activity.
- Jogging or Fast running
- Riding a bike fast or uphill
- Skipping Rope
- Gymnastics
- Swimming at speed
Though some of these might be a bit difficult to do, it can do great things for your body. Not only are you forcing your body to go all out you are forcing the blood to pump around the body and the brain.
It is also the best form of exercise for raising your mood as well, so if you have been feeling a bit low vigorous exercise can really help.
Strengthening your muscles
But before you strap on your running shoes you should also think about strength training.
The benefits of strength training are just as important as aerobic training though and can help us combat weakness, fragility and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. It will also give you a decreased risk of injury while training and help out with losing any extra body fat you may have.
You don’t need a huge amount of equipment to include strength training, you can use the weight of your own body or simple equipment and get the same results.
When we talk about strength training we mean:
- Doing exercise using your own body weight - Push Ups / Sit Ups
- Yoga
- Heavy gardening such as digging
- Working with resistance bands
Although muscle strengthening activities are important to our health they do not class as aerobic - so we suggest these be done on top of any aerobic activities as well.
You can do these exercises to strengthen your muscles on alternative days to the days you do your aerobic work outs. That way you can do the whole range of exercises but still not push yourself too hard.
How does smoking effect you while training
Smoking causes both immediate and long-standing effects on exercise and physical activity.
Many think that smoking only causes damage to the lungs. However studies have shown this isn’t the case, and smoking also effects your bone and joints, putting you at risk of possibly developing the following conditions:
- Slower recovery from injuries
- Higher risk for complications during surgery
- Lower back pain
- Osteoporis
- Exercise related injuries such as Tendonitis (tennis elbow) / Sprains / Fractures
Smoking then can be a huge obstacle to getting fit, but quitting isn’t as easy as many would say. That’s why if you are serious about getting fit, try it with E-cigarettes! They give you the nicotine you need as well as the feel and the taste of a cigarette, but without the 4000+ chemicals and 50+ carcinogens found in cigarettes.
E-cigarettes have also been shown to be the most effective way to get rid of cigarettes, with studies showing they are twice as effective as patches or gum.
So if you want to get fit, but the idea of quitting smoking and starting to exercise is a bit too much, try making the switch to SMOKO with one of our e-cigarette starter kits, and then you can truly focus on getting fit!
